Endangered
by Emothgurl
Summary: Reynie, Sticky, Kate, and Constance are having a fun time - until their lives are all endangered.
1. Saint Sticky

**Endangered**

**1: Saint Sticky**

Sticky Washington truly felt sticky. He was sweating like a pig, though for sure, well-read as he was; he had never _seen _a pig sweat.

Reynie Muldoon eyed his friend with light sympathy. Sticky was one of Reynie's best friends, his secret society including two girls, Kate Wetherall and Constance Contraire.

Meanwhile Kate was riffling through her sturdy metal fire-red bucket that she always kept at hand. "Twine, glue, glove, keys, slingshot, marbles, spyglass, rope…" she droned on while taking inventory.

Constance, at that time, was brushing crumbs off her chin from a rationed pack of sugar cookies.

The reason they were sitting in a cramped little attic was because the inspectors were sniffing about downstairs and Mr. Benedict had warned them these were an exceptionally ornery group of officials. So, they had trouped upstairs in the following order/description: Kate, bouncy and cheery, eager to examine the cobwebby room; Reynie, with mock excitement, though actually feeling disappointed he hadn't been able to snatch a book or two when they'd been shooed upstairs; Sticky, mumbling about the history of Attic Stowaways in the Nazi era: "stayed up there till he was seventy five…"; and finally with obvious difficulty the short little Constance, muttering a huffy poem about the unfairness of being treated like a scrap of dirt swept to the side, was hiking up the groaning stairs.

When they finally opened the creaky door, Kate and Reynie had the sense to duck and thus avoid cobwebs; Sticky, however, engrossed in his memory recollection failed to see their common sense and walked face-first into an especially thick cluster of house spider nests, emitting a thin yell.

Constance, startled, tripped over the lower door frame. Getting up, she dusted herself off but didn't forget to step heavily on Sticky's left foot.

"Ow!" he cried and tried to thump her on the head.

Reynie held him back and said, "Sticky, do you want to stoop to her level?" Behind Sticky's back, Reynie winked at Constance. She got it clear. "Yeah, Saint Sticky, don't wanna get in the bad books," she leered.

Kate and Reynie chuckled. Saint Sticky, indeed! Kate repeated it: "Saint Sticky!" and now even Sticky had to join in on their fit of giggles.

It was innocent laughter – a silly childish joke shared between them. It was simply a laughing matter.

But, unknown to the children, their lives' fates would hardly stand a one percent chance of being funny. Danger and its game was on the way.


	2. Fifteen O'clock

**Endangered**

**2: Fifteen O'clock**

Ten minutes, twenty, and hour, a whole year. The old grandfather clock in the corner bonged unmercifully, "Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock," and these prolonged chimes echoed throughout the crevices of their ears.

Sticky dozed off in the middle of a lecture about all the mechanical parts of fifty-millimeter megabits.

Kate was trying to pry the stiff window open.

Reynie had discovered old magazines and books in a musty trunk, and was busy burying his nose into them (Actually, he was trying _not_ to, they _were_ dusty and getting a spider's nest up your nose was not desirable).

Constance, meanwhile, was silently mourning the now empty pack of snickerdoodles. But she quickly alerted a few seconds after.

Her head snapped up like she'd been poked, her eyes wild and round like that of a startled horse. Sticky awoke, Reynie came out of his trance, and Kate's right hand let go of the successfully yawning window, causing it to come down hard on her left fingers. She yelped, but quickly recovered and, like the others, concentrated on Constance, who was now squinting at the blurred portrait of Marie Antoinette placed rather unceremoniously on top of an old dresser.

It struck three o'clock.

Constance started. "Hide!" she yelped. And even as she said this, Reynie heard the bell on the second floor landing clang furiously. However, he knew they had no time to hustle downstairs. So he took charge.

He hustled Constance into an empty trunk, then placed some lose clothes and trinkets on top of the grumbling girl.

Kate balanced an old flower pot on top of the slightly ajar door. That way they had a distraction, if not a temporary bomb to stall any enemies.

Kate hoisted Sticky on top of a wardrobe and pushed a trunk in front of him. Then she and Reynie squeezed into a crack behind an old desk, the old fashioned kind with a pull-out curved cover. It was made of mahogany. Reynie nervously ran a finger through the tiny cracks it had.

Suddenly the bristles on the back of his neck suddenly pricked. His hands felt a crack. Well, that wasn't surprising. But this one felt different. Like it had a secret.

Before he could investigate further, the door creaked open. He held his breath. Beside him, pressed against him like a squashed toad, Kate wasn't breathing either.

They heard the pot crash to the floor. Well, they heard it crash on someone's head. They heard a groan that sounded like Garrote. Even though it had been over four months since he'd heard from Ledroptha Curtain ad his dastardly Ten Men, their voices still echoed deep in his subconscious. Kate had her bucket beside her, and she had to twist her hand for a tool. She found her slingshot. Reynie shook his head. Surely she wasn't going for the David-Goliath act? But Kate had no stopping. She put a huge marble into the slingshot, stealthily crouched, then popped up and shot the stone with a _pang! _

Reynie carefully stepped up when he saw a Ten Man lying on the floor, dazed. But he was puzzled. Surely a Ten Man would have dodged a shot better? Hen he looked closer. The Ten Man with his face on the floor was not Garrote. He wasn't even a Ten Man; he had no shock watches. Instead, when Reynie cautiously pulled back his sleeve, he and Kate saw a friendship bracelet.

Constance and Sticky emerged from their hiding places.

"Uh-oh," said Constance.

"Don't worry," said Sticky nervously. "I'm sue the nice gentleman will revivify."

"I'm not talking about him." Constance quivered. "I'm talking about –"she was interrupted by the door creaking open.

They all stared, afraid.

"Hello, Chickies," said the sneering McCracken. "Hope I didn't interrupt your little Attic Gathering."


	3. Not For Sure

**Endangered**

**3: Not For Sure**

"Dm you hamm a planm?" [Do you have a plan] asked Kate through her gag. She was smushed up against Reynie on the Ten Man's right shoulder, Sticky and Constance slung over his left.

"Notm fom surm," [not for sure] replied Reynie. He'd smelled a plan, but it hadn't come to him just yet.

She scowled at him. "Well, it's no time to have a mind block, Muldoon" her tape had slipped off and she was speaking more clearly. Reynie was startled. Kate was usually so good natured…the confusion on his face must have been evident – Kate burst into laughter and Reynie realized she was just pushing his mind for a good scheme.

Rushton heard her and redid her gag. "This is quite revolting," He said in a nasal voice and with a disgusted face. "We're made to do it the old-fashioned way, with these damned gags!" he shook his head. "I cannot believe these so-called Ten Men are so primitive!" the children looked at each other. Apparently, Rushton, second in size to the colossal McCracken, was a newly hired Ten Man and extremely aware of his sudden importance.

Garrotte, who rather resembled a goat in daylight and a bat in the dark (He had pointy ears, was bearded, and his nose was of unusual flatness), _Tsk_ed at Rushton and wagged a finger at him. Slumped over his shoulder like a sack of moldy cornmeal was the unfortunate official who'd been targeted by Kate's marble.

"Rushton, Rushton." Garrotte sighed drearily. "Do understand that McCracken doesn't hold with swollen-headness. He might have to pierce your skull with a pencil to let the excess air out."

Rushton grunted in reply. Garrotte was a foot shorter than him and half as narrow. He could easily knock him out – but then, there were the factors: One, He would have to carry the downed official – not a big task, but considering he had four pesky children on his hands as well…Two, Garrotte _was_ more experienced in the Ten Man business than he, and so – disregarding his size, would be considered more important than Rushton?

Rushton snorted, shook his head. Garrotte was not one for messing with. But, that teaser – Crawlings – was always asking for a taking down a peg. He'd see to it that he'd replace the careless Crawling's post and place…

Meanwhile, Reynie Muldoon was having some sort of a plan. Unfortunately, with the Ten man's dignified yet bouncy step and stride, it was rather difficult to think with cuffs chafing his wrists and his chin forever banging against a hard shoulder blade. Kate was rolling her eyes at him.

At that point, the children were blindfolded, thrown in the back of a fast-moving truck, and told to keep themselves quiet and still.

Constance began transmitting thoughts to Mr. Benedict – but couldn't seem to do so. Her words and images were bouncing back, like a handball thrown against a wall. Constance, having never experienced this difficult frustration, was severely confused and not a little pleased. The dissatisfaction on her face must have been evident, for McCracken and Rushton – garrote was driving – snickered hideously and McCracken said, in an awful leering voice, "Dear, dear, ducky. Don't you think old McCracken is smart enough to know your tricks? This is something a scientist developed for us – a telepathy wall-block. Now, now, don't look _so_ alarmed, considering it's also soundproof from the outside and your pathetic screams shan't be heard, but really, trust old McCracken to put you to good use."

Constance fell silent, but knowing her, the three older children knew she was working up a fury.

However, she could not speak, and instead began saying things muffled, in hopes that Rushton, in his curiosity, would yank off her gag. He did.

"Let me guess where you got that scientist!" she screamed.

McCracken laughed. "Oh, dear, but there are just _so_ many industries we could have borrowed him from. I'm afraid it shall take you some time to locate it from an extremely long list of possibilities."

"You think you're smart? You make a worm look brilliant!" yelled Constance.

Since Sticky was the one cuffed to Constance, he reached his free hand out and clapped it over her mouth. Constance started to protest but Reynie nudged her quiet. Her gag was replaced. And it was in this predicament that they fell asleep.


End file.
